Sunday, June 23, 2013

Every raver needs to have in their make up bag: glow in the dark/UV reactive make up, glitter, nail polish, and fun eye lashes (in my opinion).

Glow in the dark/UV reactive

There are a ton of glow in the dark make up out there, especially around Halloween. You can find them at drugstores and costume shops. But if you need make up all year long then you need to come up with some different brands that you can buy any where any time.

One brand that I use all year long is Wolfe Face Art and FX. I love my pallet.

This is my personal set, I know I am missing my green, its sad. With this make up you mix it with water to apply. Ive been using it for 2 years and there is still a ton of product.

There is also BH Cosmetics shadows.

This is the 2nd Edition pallet. Since this isn't FX make up it didn't surprise me that only the pinks actually reacted with the lights. Madeyewlook by Lex on YouTube acutally used the pinks from the 1st edition pallet in a sugar skull tutorial.

When it comes to glitter there are several different brands, styles, and application tools. There is roll on, loose, pencil, pallet form, and glitter liner. NXY has several, affordable, options.

I tend to go with NYX myself since its affordable, and after working with it for a few years I find that it lasts all day and night. That's what is important to me, as well as the take off. Any brand will work of course, as long as you like the end results and it makes you happy.

Nail Polish

There are a ton of brands of nail polish out there that is UV reactive. Some are reactive that aren't suppose to be and come up a weird color, so watch out for that. The brand I own is Nina that I bought at Sallys.

The same as glitter goes with nail polish, any brand will work. As long as its reactive it will show up. Designs are awesome in black lights, especially with white and black in the design.

False Eye Lashes

Here is where you can go from just a crazy bunch of colors, to a really over the top look. Most the time when you add lashes it brings the look together.

There are everything from simple colored lashes, to extreme feathery lashes with glitter and random tinsel. You can buy them online, at drugstores, costume shops, any where really. If you are really creative, you can take simple colored lashes and add feathers or what ever you want with lash glue, to make sure you get exactly what you are wanting.

A lot of raver outfits, true raver outfits not bathing suites in disguise, are handmade with random items. Anything to get the look you are trying to convey across. If you cant find what you are looking for, make it.

Stay tuned for more Sunday Rave Day posts, as well as Raver Must Haves Part 2!

Colors are the most important thing when it comes to make up. Not necessarily shadow colors, but knowing tones and undertones. How they work together and against each other.

Here we are talking about skin tone and not skin color. The difference is skin color is the general reference to the overall appearance of skin such as alabaster, olive, brown...ect. Tone is actually the under laying color that creates the highlight and glow of healthy skin (yellows, reds, blues). The tone of ones' skin can be either warm or cool. Because the tone personalizes how a skin color looks on each person who has it, skin-tone is often used to express the individual look of ones skin rather than skin-color.

Cool Skintone–the skin has a little pink (rosiness) in their skin. They tend to burn easily under the sun. People who look good in silver jewelry & accessories. When they wearing a cool undertone red lipstick, they look brightened up. Most of the time, their vain is in blue color (take a look at the wrist under natural light).·

Warm Skinton–the skin has a yellowundertone or golden-olive undertone. They tend to tan easily under the sun. People who look awesome in gold jewelry & accessories than silver. When they wearing a warm (orange) undertone red lipstick, they look brightened up. Most of the time, their vain is in green color (take a look at your wrist under natural light).

Neutral Skintone–the skin has both pinkand golden undertone. They look good in both gold or silver jewelry. Most of the time, their vain is in both blue-green color.

Determining your skin tone

Wear a white shirt and look in the mirror. Be sure you are in natural or incandescent light, as yellow light or fluorescent light will reflect off your skin. See if your skin appears to have more yellow-red -- warm skin tones; or more blue-pink -- cool skin tones. The skin tone is not your skin color, it is the color that is under the skin color that reflects or is enhanced against white. Skin undertone is often shortened to simply skin tone when referring to color. There are many skin colors, but only two basic skin tones -- warm and cool. Once you know your skin tone, you can select your make-up colors.

Assess your skin color

Decide which of the major skin color categories you fall into -- fair, medium, olive or dark. People with the same skin color do not always have the same skin tone. For example, you could be fair skinned and cool toned, or fair skinned and warm toned. You could be dark skinned with either cool or warm. It depends largely on your ethnicity and genetics. You may not be exactly 1 skin color category, and most people are in-between. Determining the nearest category will help you find a color palette more quickly.

Skin tones affect the way that make up looks on you. Here is a part of an article that I think explains it well:

"You can think of skin as a filter. If you have cool, pink undertones, your makeup will be affected by that. Pinks will look pinker, blues will stand out more, etc. If you are a woman of color, it helps to see your skin tone as several layers of a filter, affecting the way color can be seen on your skin. Especially with bright colors—they tend to look more muted on darker skin. Using a light-colored base under a bright color will help keep the color looking true. You can use a lighter concealer or a light creamy eye shadow color—something that the shadow can stick to.

In general, I think that cool tones tend to not look as good on darker skin. The shadows can look ashy. On the other hand, warm, golden colors bring out the beautiful undertones of olive and darker skin tones. Of course, there are people who can pull off any color with incredible skill and style, but I think it’s a safe bet to stick with the colors that naturally look best on your skin.

The reason a rich purple looks so good on darker skin is because it is warm and vibrant, so the color stands out, but is still flattering with the skintone. Cool violets look beautiful on paler skin tones because you get the vibrancy of the purple without the intensity. And the cool tones of a pale lavender flatter the pink/blue undertones of pale skin.

Red-orange lipsticks look great on women with olive skin because of the warmth of the color, where blue-reds look incredibly dramatic and flattering on paler women, because of the cooler color of their skin."

Knowing color really helps when it comes to conceler. You want to use complementary colors. So if you have purple under your eyes, like I do, then use a yellow conceler. Red splotches? Use a green concerler.

Make-up Artist Tips on Concealer & Color Correcting:

When you mix complimentary colors together (eg. mix red and green), they will combine to produce a neutral gray. This theory is best applied for Under-Eye Concealer Application–if someone has a purple under-eye that you want to conceal, for the best result, use a concealer with yellow undertone, OR use a yellow color corrector to neutralize the purple under-eye first, then use a concealer on top to match the person’s natural skintone.

The same theory works for people who have lots of dark blue under-eye color (which is often found in darker, brownish skintone), it is best to use an orange color corrector (or a mix between orange & ochre colors) first to neutralize the dark blue under-eye first, and then use a concealer on top to match the person’s natural skintone.

Using color correcting in the under-eye area effectively with the proper method & color, it will bring a nice radiant & lifting effect on the make-up look!

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Every artist has their favorite brushes. And not every artist will agree on everything when it comes to brushes. I have made a simple list of basic brushes that everyone should have:

1. Foundation

2. Concealer

3. Fluffy powder

4. Blush

5. Small blending

6. Flat eyeshadow

7. Precision angle

8. Lip

Honestly I believe that brand isn't everything. There are some amazingly expensive brushes that are said to be top of the line, and there are dugstore brand brushes that work lesser quality but get the job done. So really it's how much you want to spend on them. But I do agree that you should have spend a little bit on a good quality set.

There is a middle ground, some less expensive but still great quality brushes. BH Cosmetics, which I mention over and over again, have affordable full sets.

http://www.bhcosmetics.com/brushes

This is the set that I have personally. It's $16.00 currently and I love it! This particular set is made of Eco friendly natural and artificial material. They of course have other sets and individual brushes as well. Buying in a set seems easier to me though, hopefully that way you get most of the brushes you need. Then you can buy the individual brushes that didn't come in the set which should only be one or two.

Here is a review done by BH Cosmetics: http://youtu.be/x6iXUd3VFdY

And then to hear from people who actually purchased them: http://youtu.be/ycoVHms6qU8

http://youtu.be/HbEn1k1dNT8

http://youtu.be/lY3pPMSlcRc

There are other companies that you can buy sets from at a more affordable price, I'm not going to name them all since there are a lot of them. Morphe Brushes is a favorite of mine too. (http://www.morphebrushes.com/newproducts.html).

5. Duo Small Angle Detailer / Brow—Two great brushes in one.Fill in your brow with the small angle detailer then brush to perfection with the brow side.Also used for separating lashes and applying mascara.

These are just a few that I pulled quickly. When it comes to buying a set of brushes, I honestly think you should do your research. Look up YouTube video reviews, read comments on their pages, or if you can just go to the store selling them to actually feel them. Also check out their return policy, if they have one, that way if your not happy you can send them back.

Cleaning your brushes

There are plenty of different methods and products to clean your brushes with. Shampoo, olive oil, baby shampoo, bar of soap, and I'm sure many others. I personally use coconut oil and baby shampoo.

Its important to clean your brushes because they collect bacteria which we spread all over our face and that causes us to break out. You should try to clean your brushes once a week if not more. If you are working on people and multiple people in one day you should get a brush disenfectant. Doing a quick search you can find some at Ulta or Sephora. But if you are able to spend the money you should look into Beauty So Cleans products. http://www.beautysoclean.com/

They have brush, cosmetic cleaners for powder based make up, cosmetic sanitizer wipes for lip glosses and such and other products. The image above is a Spring Cleaning Pro Set. Currently $50.00 which is not a bad price.

How to clean your brushes with soap or shampoo:

1. Wet bristles with warm water.

2. Use a mild soap or shampoo (or baby shampoo), apply a small amount to bristles and work into a lather.

3. Rinse thoroughly under running water making sure there is no more color rinsing out.

4. After rinsin, squeeze out excess water and lay flat on towel. Allow to dry 6-8 hours.

Sunday, June 16, 2013

Here is a look that you can wear to work, then with a bit more make up can make it out to the rave quickly. Not everyone is able to take time off of work the day of raves. Since I have had this issue many times I have created system. The day of the rave I wear minimal make up of what I plan to wear out that day. Then I go over it darker, or add more to it.

In this look particularly, I went with a lighter almost baby pink, darker pink in the crease, and black eyeliner. Then I went over the light pink with the same pink that is in the crease, adding more almost to the eyebrow. I added more black eyeliner extending it father on the wing, then adding to the crease. After that I added some pink dots under my eye, and false eyelashes.

Any variation of color and style can be done to make this quick transformation possible. This is just a simple way to cut down some of the stress of trying to make it out the door faster.

If you like this look and would like to see a tutorial on how I did this please leave a comment. If you have any questions, comments, or anything to add, please leave a comment.

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

There is a new thing going around YouTube called the rainbow tag! It's suppose to be where some one else tags you in their video and then you have to make your own. But no one tagged me. I just made one because it's about colors and rainbows. It goes very well with my 30 Days of Color June Challenge. So I urge every one to make their own rainbow tag videos, I'm tagging YOU! Haha.

I can't believe I forgot to post this! It's Wednesday and I was suppose to do this last Sunday. Oh well!

So since a good majority of my make up looks have the potential to be worn to a rave or event, I decided to make one day a week dedicated to raves.

Every Sunday I will be posting on here and my Facebook (link below), a bunch of photos, YouTube video links by me and other people, product reviews, and products that I believe ever raver should have in their make up bag. I am really excited for this series and excited to hear what everyone has to say about it.

My first entry is a video I posted to YouTube: http://youtu.be/jE5ON-s4Vt0

Please comment, let me know what you think. I really want to hear what everyone thinks about my videos.

So you might be asking why I'm sharing all this information? Color is the basicis to make up. I honestly believe that a basic understanding of color is the first step in make up even before buying any products.

Look forward to Part 2: Skin tones!

I will be sharing a log of information on the different skin tones, how color affects different skin tones, and how to determine your skin tone.

I spend most of my extra money on make up. Which means that I don't have a lot of money to spend. So in order to be able to get a lot of products for less I look for deals, discounts, sales, and coupons.

If you go to the website of the brands that you like, most of them have a sign up for newsletters. Do it! They send you emails with new product information and a lot of coupons!!! They let you know about sales and discounts. For some brands they will let you know about discontinued products so that you can buy the ones you like before they go off the shelf. If you are like me and do not want to have your main email junked up with a bunch of emails trying to get you to spend money, then make a separate account that you use just for sign ups. I personally have one just for make up.

Also check out their Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, Instagram,...what ever social media they use. That's how you can find out abut sales sooner. I know that I personally share a few coupons and sale fliers that I get. I love to help others save money!

You can go old school and buy a newspaper too. That is where you will find coupons for drugstore brands. Most of them have a week to a month expiration date. Which is good because then you can save them for later if you don't need that item right now. Some coupons are for multiple items, as in Buy One get One 50% off! I love those! But I love the Get One Free even better! You can stock up on products you know you already love, try out new things, or get with a friend and split the cost. I like the last option. Like I said, I love to help others save money! Those crazy coupon people are on to something with all these coupons. You can also go online and find some coupons but most the time they are fake so I try not to mess with them.

If you live in the Central/Southern Texas region, then you have heard of a large grocery store chain called H.E.B. In store coupons are yellow and litter the store in every department. My favorite coupons are in the cosmetics department. Two weeks ago I needed new liquid foundation and powder, which H.E.B. just so happen to have a $3.50 off all Revlon products. Perfect timing! I had been wanting to try the Revlon Colorstay line. So with the coupon I got both for $5-6 each. Amazing deal!

I have done some price comparison and H.E.B. vs Ulta for drugstore brands, H.E.B. is mostly always $1-3 cheaper. (I know that's not a great sentence structure but it gets the point across.) Many states have their own grocery stores, if you aren't willing to price compare then you do not want to save money. That I stand by! I am not saying that by shopping exclusively at Ulta you are doing something wrong, I just try to only brands I can not get anywhere else. Mainly I go there for NYX products which are on my top 5 favorite brand lists!

Ulta is great for their newsletters. They have a rewards system where you get free products after you spend so much money. Of course the item is no where near the price of what you have to spend but, oh well! The awesome part is that they send a mailed newsletter showing new products, sales, specials, and other great deals. It comes with coupons on the front cover, mostly $3.50 off $10 or less, or 20% off. That is mainly when I go shopping an stock up on NYX items since they are mostly under $10 items. They also send out an emailed newsletter which has the same coupon, so you get double the savings.

There are a few brands that I swear by because they are dependable and affordable products. Since they were affordable, I have purchased a few items from each brand and tried them out myself. Which makes me want to buy more and try out the rest of their products. BH Cosmetics, NYX, and Morphe Brushes are just a few.

Now if your a Facebook junkie, YouTube watcher or blogger, there are specials for you too. There are a few people that I follow all of their social medias that they will allow, they do giveaways!!!! Ive seen a ton of giveaways all over Facebook. I've never won anything but that doesn't mean that I don't try. Its mostly: share, like, subscribe, comment! How easy is that? BH Cosmetics has giveaways on many of their YouTube new product videos. There are also some companies that do contests that end in them doing huge giveaways. The current contest that I am watching and voting is NYX Face Awards. The contestants are sent big boxes of products from NYX and other companies that are supporting the contest. Then they are suppose to use the products in the next challenge. I am so jealous of the amount of stuff that they receive, I can not even hide it.

These are all my own thoughts and views on saving money. No one has paid or other wise compesated me to say anything about any products.

Here are a few links to YouTube videos, websites, Facebook pages, stores and coupon sites:

Saturday, June 8, 2013

I have been asked by a friend at work about doing her eye brows. So I put together this bit of information! ^_^!

There are 3 parts to your brows.

http://www.ebeautyblog.com/2009/05/eyebrow-shaping-tips.html?m=1

When your lining your brow and it goes beyond what natural hair you have you still want to make it seem as natural as possible. You want to line everything up, you can use any straight edge, like a brush, as a guide. The furthest part from your nose should be in line with your nose as in Line F on the diagram. So where the dotted line is, is how you would line up with your brush. Place a dot where it lines up.

The middle, arch, should be on a same diagonal but it should line up throug the middle of your eye. There isn't a line on this diagram.

And the beginning of your brow should be lined up vertically from the outside of your nose straight up, like Line D.

Make Up Geek has a ton of information

http://www.makeupgeek.com/makeup-basics/how-to-fill-in-your-brows/

Get your brows professionally waxed or threaded every now and then if budget permits.

If you find someone who does this for a living, he/she can give you a great shape to your brows. The goal is to have the arch of the brow just outside your pupil.

Ideally you want the inner part of your brow to be thicker, then taper to a thinner line as it goes toward your temple. Again, the arch should be just outside your pupil.

For super dark brows, you may need to lighten them.

If you have fair skin and very dark brows, you may need to lighten them. Because my skin is fair and my brows are black, I bleach them slightly with facial bleach to make them less harsh. Leave the bleach on only for 5 minutes or you will have orange brows! (Trust me, I learned this from experience. I had Ronald McDonald brows for 3 weeks last year…)

NEVER EVER fill in your brows with black pencil

Unless you want the black sharpie brows, just please… don’t do this. Even if you have black brows, you want to fill them in with a dark brown- not black.

Find brow powders/pencils/gels with a khaki tint to them- not red.

Because hair naturally has a khaki undertone to it, using a brow pencil that has a touch of khaki color will look more natural. For whatever reason, most companies have reddish tinted brow products. This color just screams “Fake!”

For time sake, I didn’t show this in the video (sorry!). But for the most natural brows, use a matte finish tan or brown eyeshadow to fill in with. Take an angled brow brush and apply shadow to sparse areas. The best color for blondes is MAC’s eyeshadow in “Symmetry” or “Wedge“. For brunettes, it’s MAC’s eyeshadow in “Cork“.

Shade accordingly.

Not the entire brow is going to be the same darkness all throughout. Generally, the arch and the tail of the brow should be the most defined and the darkest. The inner part should be slightly more sparse and lighter.

See Kim K’s brows below- they’re a bit more sparse in the inner part of the brow. Also, cut the hairs here a bit shorter so they “sprout” a bit more

Clean up around the edges.

For very defined and “clean” brows, take a small flat brush and apply creamy concealer under the brows to tidy up the edges. You probably don’t need this step for everyday, but for those more defined brows to go with dramatic looks, this helps sharpen them a bit.

Tame the strays!

I don’t know about you, but my brows are slightly curly and crazay! I have to keep them in place with a brow gel. Anastasia makes some amazing ones in different colors that is great for on the go. I also like MAC’s eyebrow wax pencils as they keep the brows shaped nicely throughout the day.